Weight and appearance now define social and economic opportunities, whereas surname, old school tie and family network used to. Celebrities, movers and shakers and the wealthy are active participants in the wellness revolution today, establishing a beachhead in diet, exercise, vitamins, nutritional supplements and reversing the ageing process. People are actively pursuing healthier lifestyles but don’t have the time for it and there is an upsurge in interest in cosmetic alterations and anti-ageing treatments.

What is wellness? It’s about prevention rather than cure. Curing being the prevail of the medical or the sickness industry. People don’t necessarily choose sickness but can actively choose wellness. The medical industry tends to treat the symptoms, not the underlying problem but very often people have neglected themselves for too long, offering little alternative. Even pharmaceutical companies are more incentivised to spend R & D resources on treating rather than curing ailments, and certainly have little interest in prevention. Because of their economic might they exercise a great deal of influence in the medical fraternity. Health-care funding is a R40 billion+ industry in South Africa alone.

In an increasingly chronic stressful environment, people have less time and look towards “a pill for every ill” solution instead of focusing on the discipline required to establish a sound physical infrastructure. Food, diet and exercise are often neglected. In the USA, 61% of the population are overweight and in ill health. This situation is matched in other developed countries and it is reasonable to assume that a similar picture is emerging in advanced developing nations like ours. The processed and fast food industries have grown exponentially but there is an increasing movement towards healthier lifestyles. This is reflected amongst the wealthier echelons of our population and mirrored by the growth and success of the gym/fitness sector.

Many modern maladies are explained away as a consequence of the ageing process but more and more people will come to realize that stress-related ailments, headaches, body pain, fatigue, arthritis and thousands of other common ailments can be combated by a focus on lifestyle choices. Many existing holistic health practitioners are seen as fringe and also often don’t exploit proven business practices but in the USA, the burgeoning wellness industry represents a turnover of $200 billion pa and some anticipate it will grow to $1 trillion within the next 10 years. Around the world the size of the opportunity is enormous for business minded operators.

Hormone Replacement Therapy, or HRT, is a common medical treatment that can relieve the symptoms of menopause. It is also sometimes used to lessen aging symptoms in men. Although it can be helpful, hormone therapy also comes with many health risks. For this reason, every person should discuss the decision to use hormone treatment with their doctor.

What is Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Hormone replacement therapy is a treatment that consists of medication prescribed to women by a family physician. The medication is designed to counteract the effects of menopause. These medications contain female hormones like estrogen and progestin, which is a man-made version of the naturally occurring progesterone. Hormone therapy can alleviate many symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes and vaginal symptoms. Although usually used to treat women, a form of hormone therapy for men is also available to treat low levels of testosterone.

History of the Treatment

Hormone therapy has been around since the 1930′s, when estrogen was used to treat hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. In the 1960′s, doctors found more reasons to use HRT and family physicians began prescribing it more often. Throughout the next ten years, doctors used hormone therapy to treat everything from hot flashes to depression. It was approved by the FDA to treat menopause at first. In the 1980′s it was also approved to treat the loss of bone density. By 2002, it became apparent that hormone therapy can cause serious health problems and the frequency of prescription went down greatly.

Benefits to Hormone Replacement

There are a few benefits to using hormone replacement therapy in the short term. Women seem to gain protection against the loss of bone density, colorectal cancer and heart disease. Studies show that this lowers the chance of fractures and broken bones. The decrease in heart disease occurs when hormone therapy is started at the beginning of menopause. Of course, benefits also include the reduction in menopausal symptoms like mood swings and trouble sleeping as well.

Shortcomings of the Therapy

There are a number of side effects that have decreased the use of hormone therapy medication by family physicians over the past ten years. Taking estrogen medication without progestin increases the risk of uterine cancer. Long term use of hormone therapy is linked to abnormal mammograms, a higher risk of blood clots and an increased chance of certain cancers. For some, the benefits can outweigh the risks of hormone therapy, although family physicians usually recommend it only when menopause symptoms are too difficult to live with.

Hormone replacement therapy has decreased over the past ten years, although it is still an effective treatment for some individuals. HRT can reduce menopausal symptoms and decrease the risk of osteoporosis. Still, the side effects and health risks associated with the process make it necessary to carefully consider the therapy before choosing it for long term treatment.

In 2006 alone, there were over 23 million Americans above the age of 12 that required rehabilitative treatment for drug or alcohol abuse. Sadly, this number has only been rising. This is the single most important reason why there is such an outcry for alternative treatment methods such as non 12 step rehabs.

Unfortunately, the popular 12 step therapy method has not been able to successfully keep up with the growing epidemic. In fact, while drug and alcohol abuse has been on the rise, the statistics of long-term sobriety from the treatment of 12 step programs have been on the decline; reaching the lowest ever in recent years – less than 10% success rates!

This emphasizes the importance of finding the best possible drug or alcohol rehab treatment program; and not just pick the first one you come across. There are a number of things you can do in order to find centers where you can get the kind of quality service that is needed to end an addiction. Alternative treatment methods have gained quite a bit of popularity due to their increased effectiveness over 12 step group therapy. However even among these “alternative” treatment procedures there is quite a vast array of options and they are not all the same.

The first obvious thing one must do is to make sure whether or not the person you are thinking enrolling in a center does indeed have a drug problem. While this may seem ridiculous to say, you would be surprised how many people are certain someone as a dependency which turns out to be false; and there was truly a completely different reason for the peculiar behavior that was misidentified. It is best you familiarize yourself on the nature of drug and alcohol addiction and the signs. This enables you to better understand what the addict is going through and will help locating the best centers that are available by matching treatment to the exact addiction.

Another point is to ensure the centers you are considering are accredited in some fashion. While there is nothing wrong with receiving treatment from non-accredited centers (which there are a number of good non-accredited centers across the US), you will generally have a better chance at receiving superior level of drug addiction treatment from centers that are accredited. You can simply go online to check whether or not a facility is JCAHO certified or carries some other certification.

Checking the specific treatments that are offered in the various centers is one of the most important things you should do. This is where you will discover the exact method of treatment being offered and if it makes sense to you. You will find the majority of inpatient facilities offer little more than variants of 12 step therapy, while other provide non 12 step programs, holistic detox, combination of treatment protocols, etc. It is important for you to check whether your loved one will receive a physical detoxification treatment as well as therapy for the emotional underpinnings. Detox programs after all, are an important part of a drug rehabilitative treatment; but it by itself will not prove to be successful – that is only part of the equation. The addition of life courses and counseling are key to lasting success.

So how exactly can you go about finding these details about the drug rehab centers? The internet is the best place for you to go. By simply going online you can quickly research which centers are offering long-term non 12 step drug rehabilitation, their credentials, success rates and a wealth of other information; including how long each center has been providing its services to patients.

When starting out, you want to compile a list of centers – minimally have at least two or three to start comparing with each other and usually the list will grow from there as you hear about others. As you are gathering information it will start to be obvious which centers would not be a good fit or choice, and the list will eventually reduce down to a manageable number. After you have distilled the list down to the top couple places in question, be sure to take the time to visit each facility in order to get a feel of the environment and the opportunity to chat with the staff that will interact with the addict on a daily basis.

If insurance is a consideration, make sure early on to confirm the facilities accept your particular policy and that it will cover the costs, or if other financing assistance is offered. The last thing you want is treatment cut short due to inadequate funding, or not understanding that the out of pocket cost which could be more than you realize or can afford.

While volumes can be written on deeper specifics, what is covered here will lend a hand to help someone in need navigate through all the chaos and confusion generally associated with drug and alcohol rehab. The important thing is understand what is being done as information is a powerful weapon.